


Gypsy Moth

by deinde_prandium



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:41:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26015161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deinde_prandium/pseuds/deinde_prandium
Summary: "...as they hiked in the wilds of the Tibetan hills, that feeling of happiness felt larger than life, expanding to reach the Himalayan peaks on the horizon as he saw his wife grin, the wind whipping at her blonde hair. It was such a departure from their usual excursions - just him and Emilie, intrepid explorers.Then, a discovery. A butterfly and a peacock…and a book."A drabble exploring Hawk Moth's backstory.
Relationships: Emilie Agreste/Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	Gypsy Moth

**Author's Note:**

> Literally no one asked for this, but I was listening to the instrumental piece "Gypsy Moth" by Andrew Bird and got inspired, so...here you are.
> 
> Unbeta'd, etc. Enjoy.

There was a time when Gabriel Agreste was actually happy. 

It’s such a distant memory that at this point it’s almost unclear to him if it was ever real. But happy they were. He had a successful career, a wife who was beautiful and talented and kind, and a son who was just like her. They were such a close family unit that when Gabriel wasn’t overseeing fashion shows and Emilie wasn’t on a film set, they spent every possible moment together. Call it protective, or selfish, he didn’t care - he loved them too much to do things any other way. And so Adrien stayed home, or followed his parents wherever they traveled.

Except for one trip. It was meant to be an adventure, a second honeymoon...but also a way of getting Adrien accustomed to not seeing his parents around. _It will do him good, Gabriel. He’s been asking about collège. He’s ready to experience the world on his own._

It was a decision Gabriel would grow to regret (though not before most of Paris regretted it along with him).

But as they hiked in the wilds of the Tibetan hills, that feeling of happiness felt larger than life, expanding to reach the Himalayan peaks on the horizon as he saw his wife grin, the wind whipping at her blonde hair. It was such a departure from their usual excursions - just him and Emilie, intrepid explorers. 

Then, a discovery. A butterfly and a peacock…and a book.

There was, as we know, far more to these simple items than Gabriel had ever anticipated. So much power, and pain. But in those early moments of discovery, it was really just…fun. There was a light in Emilie’s eyes whenever she transformed, a joy in chattering away with Duusu, and a sense of wonder in what she could create out of a single feather. _Careful with those butterflies_ , she would admonish teasingly. _You don’t want to get yourself or your champions into trouble. We have our son to think about!_

He’d hold the butterfly in his hand, wondering what Adrien would think of these newly minted family heirlooms, and the great joy that came with wielding such power.

That joy wouldn’t last.

It wasn’t long before the cracks in the peacock pin began to affect Emilie in troubling ways. Coughing fits and fainting spells that no doctor could explain. _It’s probably just fatigue_ , she’d say, waving the concerns away. But as her condition worsened, both had to concede that it was impossible. 

Without his wife - his partner - by his side, his world soon felt off balance. His only escape was in using his own Miraculous. If he could not bend his wife’s ailments to his will, he could at least control this. Wielding such power in the dark of night helped to remind him of those windy days in Tibet, the smiles, the freedom. It became his tether to happiness in dark times.

But like a gypsy moth, the power of the butterfly became an infestation in Gabriel’s psyche, pulling him further away from his family and the joy he had once felt. By the time Emilie slipped into a permanent state of unconsciousness, the tether to his old life had been reduced to a thread.

Officially, Emilie had simply disappeared - a story made possible by Gabriel’s champions themselves. Engineers, scientists, and artisans became his workmen, using enhanced intellects and super strength to craft a lair within the confines of his own home. It would be her resting place, but also, his hideout. If Emilie’s plight taught Gabriel anything, it was that Adrien could never know of these jewels and the powers they held. _It simply isn’t safe_ , he would tell himself, ignoring the stab of shame that such secrecy was really rooted in his inability to tell his son the truth. _He can’t know. Not until I’ve figured out how to save her._

The answer lay in the secrets of the Miraculous, this much Gabriel knew. He could feel it. He would decipher the book, learn everything he could from Nooroo and Duusu - whatever it took to bring her back. It didn’t matter what they said about magic and the limitations of wielding such powers. He would find a way. For Emilie. For Adrien.

Then, one day, a breakthrough. A slip, really - but one which, once uttered, sealed Gabriel’s fate. And with the birth of a new obsession, the final thread frayed into nothing.

_Two of these Miraculous are more powerful than the others; the earrings of the Ladybug, which provide the power of creation; and the ring of the Black Cat, which grants the power of destruction. According to legend, whoever controls both these jewels at the same time, will achieve absolute power…_

Dark wings, rise.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to hear the piece that inpsired this, here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3Ds3oJIkkk (it's really really beautiful, highly recommend!)
> 
> I'm deinde-prandium on tumblr. Come by and say hello.


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